SCHOOLS TO BE GRADED
LANSING, Mich. — A new system designed to grade elementary and
middle schools based on standardized test scores goes into effect
this fall after a decade of debate over how to develop an
accreditation system that will encourage schools to improve.

The state program, called "Education YES!" will grade Michigan's
3,000 elementary and middle schools using "A," "B," "C," "D-
Alert," and "unaccredited" grading scale. Grades will be
determined based on each school's scores on the Michigan
Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test, and will be released
in November.

Chuck Anderson, executive director of the Michigan Education
Association, said the system "is a process that can be damaging
and hurtful to the school, the teachers, the administrators and
the students." But the union has said it prefers Education YES!
over previous systems.

Proponents of the system say it will allow parents to decide
which schools are best for their children. "The vast majority of
people in this state associate a certain level of quality with a
grade mark. It's part of our culture," Jim Sandy of the Michigan
Chamber of Commerce told Booth Newspapers.

U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION ADVOCATES HIGH SCHOOL REFORMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Education began last week a
campaign to help improve public high schools so students are
better prepared for college.

Declining test scores and complaints about students' skills from
colleges and post-high school employers prompted the campaign.
"The number of children who leave our educational system
unprepared is staggering," Education Secretary Rod Paige said in
a speech last Wednesday.

The department plans to launch websites on career choices and
college financial aid, hold meetings with high school leaders to
discuss school improvement, give student grants to help with
tougher courses and give states teams of advisors to help
implement reforms.

Curriculum decisions are still made at the local and state level,
said Paige, but the federal government is tying billions in
funding to school performance.

STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FACE MORE BUDGET WOES
TROY, Mich. — Next year's state budget may bring more news of
funding cuts to state colleges and universities, worrying some
institution officials.

The news is "cause for great alarm," University of Michigan
President Mary Sue Coleman told Booth Newspapers. "This is the
worst budget we've faced in 30 years. It's very, very serious."
Lawmakers have cut public college funding by almost 10 percent
the last two years and expect more cuts with an impending $800
million shortfall in the state's budget for the next fiscal year.
Public universities in Michigan have cut 1,400 full-time jobs and
$159 million in costs the last two years, while the state cut
funding to the schools $152 million. Tuition has risen close to
34 percent since the 2000-2001 school year, from $4,447 four
years ago to $5,942 in 2003.

HOLDING STUDENTS BACK PAYS OFF
ALGONAC, Mich. — A controversial system in Algonac and Yale that
links reading level to passing grades K-3 has succeeded, based on
this year's improvements on the state's standardized test.

Four years ago, school leaders implemented the system, in which
children are held back if they don't read at their grade level in
Kindergarten to third grade. Teachers initially expressed
worries about the system. "It was a lot of pressure for
teachers," Kathy Tricomo, an elementary school teacher in
Algonac, told the Detroit Free Press. "If 50 percent of my kids
aren't moving up, I'm going to feel pretty threatened by that,"
she said.

But scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)
tests show large improvements in students' reading comprehension.
In the Algonac and Yale districts, 83 percent of fourth-graders
met state expectations for reading, up from 55 percent in Algonac
and 65 percent in Yale from 1999. That is above the state average
of 75 percent.

Plante & Moran, a Southfield accounting firm, found that from
July 2000 to November 2002, the district lacked general financial
controls to stop abuse of district funds. Detroit Public Schools
CEO Kenneth Burnley revoked cards from high-level administrators
in 2002 due to misappropriated expenditures, and recalled 830
cards this summer. Six hundred cards were reissued this fall
after recipients were trained in using them.

The credit cards have a daily limit of $2,500 to $25,000
depending on their purpose. Close to $1 million in purchases were
made during the 2001-2002 school year. Employees have repaid
$21,000 of the misspent money and the district says the remaining
$7,000 was properly spent.

FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. TEACHERS' UNION LEADER PLEADS GUILTY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The former leader of the Washington Teachers'
Union pleaded guilty last Tuesday to charges of conspiracy and
mail fraud in connection with the theft of $2.5 million in union
funds.

The thefts by Barbara A. Bullock occurred from 1995 to 2002, and
paid for items such as $57,000 silver tableware, fur coats, and
season tickets to sports events.

"To put it bluntly, Ms. Bullock's conduct was nothing short of
brazen greed which led to the sheer fleecing of the Washington
Teachers' Union," said Roscoe C. Howard, Jr., U.S. attorney for
the District of Columbia. Bullock faces a maximum sentence of 10
years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.